What bullet for 40 s&w

[convert69]

I just got a S&W MP 40 pro. What bullet is everyone shooting in there 40s&w ?
I just ordered a Lyman 401638 Anyone using this mold for there 40s&w?
Thanx

[bbs70]

I use a Lee 175 g 6 cavity mold for my Glock.
401-175-TC

I like the bullet weight and with 6 cavities I can cast a lot of boolits faster.

[sundog]

Lee 401-175-TC and TL401-175-TC, both 6 cav. Former is sized/loobed to .401 with FWFL and the TL design is dip loobed in thinned LLA and dried, pushed thru a Lee .401 die, and dipped again.

I've been shooting a 40 for just a short time, and so far the TL boolit seems to be more accurate.

[prs]

Sundog and/or BBS70; is the Lee 401-175-TR a flat based or bevel base design?

Sundog, can you provide a link to dipping method with thinned LLA?

prs

[Doby45]

155gr Miha 401 penta HP. So easy to cast that I shoot them as target loads. Feed great and shoot straight.

[bbs70]

My Lee 401-175-TC has a VERY SLIGHT bevel to it.
Unless you look hard you would think they are flat based.
At least mine look that way.

[jbremount]

I have been shooting bullets made from the LEE 401-175-TC Mold for years now. Not a single problem. Mine come out to about 179gr using wheel weights.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g153/jbremount/bullet40.jpg

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g153/jbremount/DSCF0674.jpg

[NuJudge]

I've been using this one and been entirely satisfied:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=642322

[Digger]

155gr Miha 401 penta HP. So easy to cast that I shoot them as target loads. Feed great and shoot straight.

Plus 1 for the Miha mould ..... use it both in my little Keltec and also in my "big" Ruger P-91 ...:D

digger

[casterofboolits]

I have two Lyman four cavity 401638 moulds and they drop 174/175 grains with my alloy and sized to 401 they work well in my Witness autos.

[fredj338]

I shoot the #401043, designed for the 38-40. Sized .0401, cast from ww, they run right around 175gr readyt to load. I get good results in 40 & 10mm loads.

[kawalekm]

I'm loading 401638 with 9.5 grains of BlueDot and an OAL of 1.145". Out of my Ruger I'm getting 3-4" groups at 25 yards.

[Blammer]

this may be a good one
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=105409

[sundog]

prs, thin the LLA about 50/50 with mineral spirits, put some in a small container, and dip the boolits to whatever depth you want loobed. I use a bent nose needle nose plier, set them on waxed paper on a cookie sheet (raided the kitchen for the old ones), and let them dry. Push thru a Lee die if needed, and then loob them again. Ranch Dog recommends this method for his line of boolits. Seems to work.

I cut a prescription bottle just high enough to hold enough loob for dipping. Seems to work without squirting out too much at one time.

The standard loob groove boolit has a bit of a bevel on the base, the TL has much less - almost flat.

[sundog]

prs, thin the LLA about 50/50 with mineral spirits, put some in a small container, and dip the boolits to whatever depth you want loobed. I use a bent nose needle nose plier, set them on waxed paper on a cookie sheet (raided the kitchen for the old ones), and let them dry. Push thru a Lee die if needed, and then loob them again. Ranch Dog recommends this method for his line of boolits. Seems to work.

I cut a prescription bottle just high enough to hold enough loob for dipping. Seems to work without squirting out too much at one time.

The standard loob groove boolit has a bit of a bevel on the base, the TL has much less - almost flat.

[tackstrp]

Lee 401-175-TC and TL401-175-TC, both 6 cav. Former is sized/loobed to .401 with FWFL and the TL design is dip loobed in thinned LLA and dried, pushed thru a Lee .401 die, and dipped again.
.

ditto

I seat on the tumble lube so about half of the top band is showing. It is not very wide so should the seater die get gummed up, it will show by seating to deep.

[tackstrp]

thanks sundog . will try . as it is i wipe round after reloaded. could save some work and gum in the seating die



prs, thin the LLA about 50/50 with mineral spirits, put some in a small container, and dip the boolits to whatever depth you want loobed. I use a bent nose needle nose plier, set them on waxed paper on a cookie sheet (raided the kitchen for the old ones), and let them dry. Push thru a Lee die if needed, and then loob them again. Ranch Dog recommends this method for his line of boolits. Seems to work.

I cut a prescription bottle just high enough to hold enough loob for dipping. Seems to work without squirting out too much at one time.

The standard loob groove boolit has a bit of a bevel on the base, the TL has much less - almost flat.

[finattic]

Gentlemen i am very new to casting boolits, i have purchased a lee 6 cavity 401-175 for my 40 to shoot ipda with. I am having trouble getting the mold to fill out. The only way i can get a good looking boolit is to run the temp up past 800. Is this normal for a lee mold. I have been helped along the way by my uncle who has been casting for years but he has never used a lee 6 cavity of any sort. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated i do not want to damaged the mold doing something wrong.

[tackstrp]

no idea what my tempeture would be on my lee 20# pot with bottem feed. but i run with dial all the way to high as can go

[Doby45]

You don't need to run the alloy temp that high, you need to get the MOLD temp up..

Put your alloy temp back down to around 725 and either pre-heat your mold or just start casting and cast fast. Once your boolits are frosting back your speed down a bit. This is an art, not a science. There are parts of science at play but way much more art involved.

[jbremount]

Gentlemen i am very new to casting boolits, i have purchased a lee 6 cavity 401-175 for my 40 to shoot ipda with. I am having trouble getting the mold to fill out. The only way i can get a good looking boolit is to run the temp up past 800. Is this normal for a lee mold. I have been helped along the way by my uncle who has been casting for years but he has never used a lee 6 cavity of any sort. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated i do not want to damaged the mold doing something wrong.


Did you clean the mold and then use smoke/smoot in the cavities. The instructions went in more details about this.......Straight wheel weight work well as long as they are not the ones with zinc in them......

[finattic]

Thanks for the replys, yes i cleaned the mold and smoked it, i thought the mold temp was up enough but maybe not, after running it 8 times which should be 48 boolits you would think it would be up to temp. I will try to get the mold temp up before casting and try again. Is there anyway to check the mold temp without pouring lead in it, like maybe a infrared thermoter, if so then i would guess the mold temp and the lead temp should be close to the same, i am correct in this thinking. Thanks again

[Doby45]

What prolly happened is you kept looking at the boolits being dropped.

What you have here is a huge chunk of aluminum that doesn't really hold heat that well to begin with, then you check you boolits every 2-3 drops and you have a mold that never gets up to temp. I would say do atleast 10 drops right into your sprue pile and don't even look at them. Then after 10 drops in the sprue pile start dropping them in your keeper pile, still do not look at them. You will find you have a huge pile of boolits in no time and most all of them will be keepers. I personally check about every 10 drops when I am running my Lee 6 cav molds. Thats how you can tell if they are frosting way more than they need to.

[Mavrick]

finattic- From 'cold', cast 5-10 throws as fast as you can get the melt to 'freeze'. Then, start casting into your 'keep' pile. If you have someone with you, it may help. If not...OK, too.
Just look at the drop as you close the mold, and are going back to the 'melt'. Don't stop and look. The aluminum molds lose heat way fast. Don't make the next drop on top of the ones you already dropped. I'm talking of air-cooled on a soft towel. If you are going to water-quench, the water will cushion the fall. I air-cooled for about 30years before I EVER tried water and think it's a very good idea to use a towel as you can watch what your boolits are doing. You can cull later if you don't catch 'em as you go along.
The idea is to cast as fast as you can sustain. You will be able to lower the 'melt' temperature as you strengthen your wrist and speed your casting.
I use an RCBS bottom-pour and it's easy to get the molds too hot if the thermostat is turned too high. You adjust your speed to just frost a little bit.
I have to straighten my cap(the conical one with little moons and stars on it) from time to time.
I use 4-hole iron, 2-hole iron, 2-hole aluminum, and 6-hole aluminum and am getting into my first brass mold, and find each has it's own heat/speed range so it takes a little getting used to. It's not rocket-science, it's magic!
Have fun,
Gene

[Gun Nut]

CAST FAST AND HOT TILL FROSTED THEN SLOW DOWN AND FIND THE RIGHT RYTHM, MY 6 CAV .401 LIKES IT HOT! ... i DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THESES MOLDS HAVE A BEVEL ON THE BASE OF BOOLIT? IT SEEMS THAT A FLAT EDGE WOULD SEAL THE BARREL BETTER???

[gwilliams2]

Lee 175 SWC TL... Puttin them down range with a Glock, S & W and a Kahr, never had one misfeed...

[finattic]

Thanks for the replys guy's. I am reading this after another session in the shop tonight. I understand what you saying by going fast, i have not been fast enough, the best casting's i got tonight was almost at the bottom of a 10 lb pot. Must have taken that long for everything to get right, the boolits are just before frosting. I will try your suggestion about going faster and not looking and then cull later hopefully not too many. I am not giving up it has gotten to the principle of the matter now. Thanks again

[songdog53]

Lee 175 and they pour and shoot just fine for me. They weigh out little over 178gr but then they work for me. Put them over 5 grs. of Unique many because have several pounds that i need to use up and they work fine.

[geargnasher]

As far as mould designs go, the Lee 175 TC with conventional lube has worked pretty well for me, but if you want to approach the sound barrier in this potentially very powerful cartridge you will have a MUCH easier time of it using a gas-checked design. For medium to low velocity stuff (under 900 fps in the .40), use the powders and alloys you would use in a .45 ACP.

Gear

[songdog53]

Lee .401 TC for me and shoot very well and can make a bunch out of pot of lead and mine weighing in 178 lubed and love them. My 40 yet to see jacketed bullet.